Wednesday, December 17, 2008

I purchased 16 acres in South Central Tennessee. I scouted the land quickly and found a couple of rubs and scraps along a four wheeler trail. I immediately put up a blind and a climber on the property.

Last weekend I went to the property to hunt and found three dogs on it. I yelled to them but, they never even turned their heads despite the fact that they were only 20 yards away. They slowly walked away after finishing their drink from the creek that runs through the property.

I decided to continue to my hunting spot. A very short while later I heard the dogs chasing a deer through the woods until they there was muzzleloader blast. At which point the dogs settled down. I presume that the dogs were deer hunting dogs and that they were running the deer off of my property to their owner who was illegally hunting private property that is unowned by him but unattended by the owner.

I can't tell you how upset I was by this whole experience. I paid about $70K for this land. I bought the land to get away from public land that is overrun by these kinds of idiots. The ones that have no regard for anyone else. Well, I guess the idiots are everywhere.

My knee-jerk reaction was that I wanted to shoot the dogs and leave them for dead. But, guess what? It's not the dogs fault. It's the owners. I would not hesitate to shoot the dogs if they were a threat to me or my family but for now I will wait to find the owner, possibly capture the dogs and deliver them to the authorities. I wish there was a way to make people live HONORABLY. But, there are so few of people who give any value to honor that the bulk of our society has learned to care about themselves only... not just first, but only.

I would never knowingly step foot on private property to hunt without permission. I would never hunt a deer with a dog (this is my personal opinion) and if I did I would do it on land that I had permission to do it. Since it is against the law to hunt deer with dogs in the state of Tennessee I am sure that the poacher would never bother to ask or to consider whether the deer population could handle this type of hunting.

How do you feel about this practice? Am I wrong to want sole rights to my own land. Should I be alright with someone running deer off of my land for their own use. Not a neighbor, but a thief who puts no value on someone else's property. Not someone who gave me an opportunity to tell them my answer of: No you can't run your dogs on my land.

I called the game warden and his response was this. "Dogs know no bounds." You could shoot the dog if they are hurting your livestock or threatening you or your family. But, unless you catch the dog and deliver it to the authorities nothing can be done. He went on to say that he most likely will not be able to prosecute the hunter because they probably wouldn't be there when they arrived and if they were they can claim that they are hunting rabbits with their dogs. Which is a legal practice. About the only thing they could get them on is trespassing.

I don't want them running their rabbit dogs on my property either. Am I wrong to say, "I WANT TO HUNT MY OWN LAND"? I don't want to share it with people who have not asked my permission. That is the reason that I purchased the land... not to live on but to hunt on.

I admit it would be very tempting. I suppose it depends on the local laws. I haven't found any laws in the state of Tennessee referring to the legality of taking feral dogs.

I wouldn't hesitate to protect myself of my family but if the dogs are not threatening me personally... I would have to take a pass.

I hate that the dogs are ruining my hunting. So, I intend to fence in at least a portion of my land that the dogs can't get too. Until then I will keep my fingers crossed that I will not see them anymore.

Two things... One, it is going to be darned hard to capture those dogs, they are trained to only respond to their owner.

Two, do not shoot the dogs...People are crazy about there dogs and some of them are worth thousands of dollars to the owners.

YOU have every right to be upset about this poacher. The best you can do is post your land and post the land of the other property owner as long as you can get his name and permission(tax records are great for this kind of thing). Communicate locally at all of the local gas stations and bars that anyone caught poaching your land will be prosecuted and that you are working with local fish and game to identify and catch any poachers.

Randomly found your blog. It is a shame that there are folks out there that disregard the law. Try to avoid the temptation to confront them. Unless you are a bonafied gunfighter, you stand a good chance of being hurt. In stead talk to the local Fish and Game. Most of those fellows take their job VERY seriously, and will help track down and prosecute those miscreants.

On shooting dogs... I'm torn between my love for my dogs, and the callus disregard of some clown for his dogs. A few well aimed rounds between their legs might teach them a temporary lesson, and elicit a response from the owner.

Stick with Law Enforcement folks as much as possible.

If you get a chance, stop by my blog, we talk a little hunting there too!

Sadly this happens far too often and you pay good money for that land and you should be able to hunt it without interference from outsiders esp one's who are breaking the law. I agree shooting the dogs is not the best answer but i would be sure to find those dog owners and have a little chat with them.

Sorry to say The "only" way to get your point across in my opinion is to shoot the dogs. I know the dogs know no boundaries but there owner do. and sending a message to the people that buy and train dogs to run deer need every dog the own shot for their stupidity!!

I think the better way to handle the situation is to find where the hunter accessed your land and talk to him and discuss in calm terms the use of your land and ask his opinion and enlist him to help in this way you will have better neighbors and know who is on your land the dogs are just working their because that is what they do.If you try and get aggressive it will create an aggressive response from the hunter.

If I were in your spot, I'd probably be ticked off also. He has no right to be on your land in the first place, let alone hunting on it. However, it would be best to take it up with the authorities first and let them handle it. I personally wouldn't confront him unless you physically find him on your land, nor would I mess with his dogs. Let the law enforcement deal with it and you'll probably get it resolved much smoother.

There are way too many crazy people out there in the world today who believe they are entitled too everything. I have the same problem here in N.E. Pennsylvania with people who think that they can ride their quads all over my property. The best solution is to find out where they are accessing your property, properly post it, and make the Game Commission aware of your concerns as well as the police. It can be a pain, but you never know who you are dealing with out there. No deer is worth getting shot.

It is really a shame that people will trespass on your land and risk prosecution just for a hunt. Unfortunately, landowners often have to put up fences to keep people out. I agree that I would probably track the hunter back to their truck and take down their tag number and call the sheriff instead of the game warden. If I found them again then I would let the air out of his tires and see how he liked that. http://hogpredators.com

Your blog show your hunting quality, it would be best to take it up with the authorities first and let them handle it. I personally wouldn't confront him unless you physically find him on your land,nice posting thanks!

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I have owned land where dogs have cause havok.. Ive owned dogs..hunting dogs.. I trained them.. they did as they were trained to do.. its the owners not the dogs fault.. but.. bottom line.. dogs need to be sorted. Sad, but in the end its the owners who should pay..not the poorly trained animals. I understand the dilema though.. believe me!SamBadlands Backpacks

Is your property clearly labeled as private? It sounds like you just bought the land, so people might be used to hunting on it. Now that it's your personal hunting ground, it's probably important to put up a few more signs. As for the dogs, I think you did the right thing in letting them walk away. | http://www.nmranchproperties.com

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Please be advised that the content of this site is written as a matter of personal opinion. The advice offered here is not advice from a professional hunter and whoever reads the advice is responsible to verify it's accuracy, legality and safety. Sean Porter accepts no responsibility for other peoples successes or failures, injuries or financial loses. In other words, if I advise something and you go out and do it... you assume the responsibility for your own actions and the outcomes of your actions. Investigate what I say and what anyone else says to be sure it is accurate, legal and safe in your situation. I don't know everything... I am just a regular guy like you. If on the other hand something that I have written can help, then feel free to use it and then please tell me about it. But, what works for me won't always work for everyone else.